As the “Occupation of Wall Street” continues growing globally, many wonder what the outcome will be, and what is causing the movement in the first place. Unfortunately, the name of the movement and its relation to Wall Street, does not do justice to the real issues at hand. Yes, the original protests started as a result of the dissatisfaction with high paid bonuses and salaries to those in Wall Street, but there is something much bigger driving the issue at hand in this movement, and it is not just about Wall Street. It is about “unheartful capitalism,” as recently described by the CEO of Pepsi, Indrya Nooyi.
Companies are organs of society. They link everything together, provide products and services, give people the means to earn a living, and generally make our lives better. However, as short term thinking, quarterly earnings, “shareholder value” and profits dominated decisions and financial instruments held an unsustainable tyranny, the system broke down. This is not the case everywhere, but it is apparent in almost every country, where management has failed to remember the binding, overriding qualities of a company as an organ for the community. Today, people are venting their frustration, due to the lack of jobs available, degraded environment, growing wealth gaps, and a myriad of other issues that have been accumulating in our societies for the past thirty years.